Easy and affordable ways to be green for Earth Day

With Earth Day just around the corner, it's a wonderful time to re-evaluate your home and how you live. Being green doesn't have to cost you money — in fact, in most cases integrating sustainable choices into your lifestyle will actually save you money!

Don't know where to start? Here are three tips to get you started.

• Recycle.

• Source local materials.

• Repurpose items from your home.

• Take off your shoes when you walk into the door of your home to prevent tracking in pollutants.

• Turn off lights when you leave a room.

• Wash full loads of laundry.

• Switch from carpet to hardwood (carpeting traps odors and dust mites).

• Capture and re-use rainwater to water household plants.

• Use low- or zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) paint.

• Make your own cleaners. Lemon juice and water is a fantastic cleaner, also baking soda and vinegar.

• Purchase Energy Star appliances.

• Toss your coffee grounds into your household plants; they make a great fertilizer when applied lightly.

• Buy a programmable thermostat and lower your setting throughout the day/night.

• Use a nylon shower curtain instead of a vinyl one — it almost feels like fabric, and you can wash it.

• Purchase low-flush toilets to conserve water, showerheads and faucets.